1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rear view mirror for a motor vehicle accessory, and more particularly to improved structure for supporting a mirror for angular adjustment.
2. Prior Art
Rear view mirrors mounted outside a motor vehicle and adjustable from inside the vehicle are known and the advantages are well recognized. The desirability of controlling the adjustment through an electric motor and transmission located within the mirror housing are also recognized and various structures have been proposed in the art for motor operated mirrors. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,014.
As shown by the above mentioned patent, it has been proposed to adjust a centrally pivoted mirror about horizontal and vertical axes using screws connected with the back of the pivoted mirror, and advanced or retracted by rotatable nuts, driven either by separate motors and worms or by a single motor and worm pivoted at the opposite end of the motor to selectively engage one or the other nuts.
As a further example of known systems for electrically adjusting mirrors, the assignee of this application has previously considered an electrically operable mirror similar to that described above using a single electric motor centrally pivoted to engage a worm driven by the motor with one of two rotary nuts to adjust lead screws connected to a pivoted mirror.
The known structures as exemplified above have the disadvantage of requiring relatively expensive mirror supporting plate structure and connections for pivoting and adjusting the mirror relative to a fixed support. Typically, the central pivots for mirror backplates have utilized a number of parts in forming a firm but pivotal connection to a fixed support, including ball and clamping sockets and spring tensioning devices, which require undesirable assembly time in manufacture and which do not always function satisfactorily. One approach to overcoming these disadvantages using a unitary back construction is disclosed in the aforementioned related application, which among other features, utilized two securing studs related to a pivoted portion of the back through an integral universal connection and which were retained in apertures of a supporting mirror-drive housing by a snap-in fit.